San Diego (8-3-3, 3-1-2 WCC) at No. 19 UCLA (7-2-5, 3-2-3 Big Ten)
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026 • 6 p.m. PT • Wallis Annenberg Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch: B1G+ | Live Stats: USDToreros.com | Social: @USDmsoccer

LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego beat Santa Clara 3-1 on Oct. 21 at Torero Stadium, scoring all three of its goals after halftime to move to 8-3-3 overall and 3-1-2 in WCC play. The Toreros won back-to-back matches for the first time since a three-match winning streak Sept. 5-13 and stayed second in the league standings.

• Ethan McNaughton broke a scoreless tie in the 56th minute, heading Kevin Pena's left-sided corner in at the near post for the first goal of his collegiate career.

• Devin Dillon scored the game-winner in the 80th minute, nodding a Matteo Salcedo corner into an empty net at the far post. Both of Dillon's goals this season have been game-winners.

• Ninety-five seconds later, Elijah Zelkind made it 3-0, tapping in from 6 yards after Steven Ramirez's cross from the right was miscleared. It was Zelkind's first collegiate goal.

• San Diego outshot Santa Clara 24-8 and put nine shots on target. The 24 shots matched the season high set four days earlier at Pacific, and the 13 corner kicks, to the Broncos' five, were a season high.

• The Toreros held a 7-1 shot edge and 67% of possession in a scoreless first half and finished with 57% of possession.

• Oliver Rhoades put a team-high three shots on target, Iain Wagner had a team-high five shots for the second straight match, and Pena hit the crossbar in the 68th minute. Santa Clara goalkeeper Jackson Ozburn made six saves.

• Lucca Adams made two saves, both after halftime. Santa Clara's goal came off a corner kick at 89:55.

• Pena started for the second straight match and assisted the opening goal again, giving him a point in three straight matches. Salcedo's assist was his fourth of the season, tying Wagner for the team lead, and Ramirez's assist extended his point streak to five matches.

• Freshman Tony Ramirez was shown a straight red card at 89:37, and Taj Eagleston and Zelkind were booked. Eighteen Toreros saw action.

• San Diego is unbeaten in its last five meetings with Santa Clara (4-0-1), and Brian Quinn improved to 5-2-2 against the Broncos. Santa Clara leads the all-time series 36-19-5.

THE SERIES WITH UCLA
• Sunday is the 38th all-time meeting between San Diego and UCLA. The Bruins lead the series 24-9-4 and hold a 75-46 edge in goals.

• It is the first meeting since Oct. 17, 2019, when No. 16 San Diego won 4-1 at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Miguel Berry and Alex Churness scored twice apiece, and the Toreros led 2-0 inside the first three minutes.

• San Diego is 4-3-0 in the last seven meetings, a run that began with a 5-2 win at UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 18, 2012.

• The Toreros beat No. 1 UCLA 1-0 at Torero Stadium on Sept. 26, 2014, before a program-record crowd of 4,432, as Patrick Zimmer scored off a Darragh Vieyra free kick in the 15th minute. The Bruins won the rematch 2-1 in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Drake Stadium on Nov. 23, 2014.

• San Diego also won the 2017 meeting, 3-1 at Torero Stadium on Oct. 22, on goals by Aaron Frey and Djordje Babic and a UCLA own goal.

• Brian Quinn is 1-1-0 against UCLA, with both matches in Los Angeles: a 2-0 loss on Aug. 28, 2018, in his second match as head coach, and the 4-1 win in 2019.

TALE OF THE TAPE

San Diego statistics through Oct. 21 and UCLA statistics through Oct. 19, 14 matches each.

UCLA CONNECTIONS
• Goalkeeper Lucca Adams began his college career at UCLA, spending the 2024 season with the Bruins without appearing in a match before transferring to San Diego. He was named WCC Goalkeeper of the Year in his first season as a Torero.

• Midfielder Matteo Salcedo's father, Jorge, played at UCLA, winning a national championship as a freshman, and went on to a five-year MLS career.

GOALS IN BUNCHES
• San Diego has scored at least three goals in three straight matches, totaling 10: four against Portland, three at Pacific and three against Santa Clara. The Toreros scored 16 goals in their first 11 matches.

• Eight different Toreros have scored in that stretch: Kevin Pena and Steven Ramirez twice each, and Oliver Rhoades, Taj Eagleston, Iain Wagner, Ethan McNaughton, Devin Dillon and Elijah Zelkind once.

• San Diego has taken 65 shots over the three matches, 21.7 per match, after averaging 13.5 over its first 11.

• The 3-0 win at Pacific and the 3-1 win over Santa Clara were San Diego's first back-to-back multi-goal wins of the season.

• Twelve Toreros have scored this season, with McNaughton and Zelkind the 11th and 12th.

DEAD-BALL DANGER
• San Diego's first two goals against Santa Clara came from left-sided corner kicks: Ethan McNaughton headed in Kevin Pena's delivery at the near post, and Devin Dillon nodded Matteo Salcedo's corner into an empty net at the far post.

• The Toreros earned a season-high 13 corners against the Broncos, topping their previous high of 10 against San Diego State and at San Francisco. San Diego has 87 corners this season to its opponents' 66.

• Salcedo has assisted three goals that began with dead balls: his free kick against Portland was headed back across goal by Tobias Polz for Steven Ramirez's equalizer, his corner set up Dillon's winner against Santa Clara, and he assisted Iain Wagner's 25-yard opener against San Diego State after a corner was headed clear.

• Pena struck a 25-yard free kick into the upper-left corner against Portland, and Taj Eagleston's 55th-minute winner at UC Irvine came off a set piece, a half volley after his first shot came back off the post.

• Ramirez is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season. UCLA is 6-for-6, with Shakir Nixon converting four and Diego Castano two.

ON THE ROAD
• Sunday is San Diego's 10th road match of the season and the last of its non-conference schedule. The Toreros are 5-2-2 away from Torero Stadium, with 14 goals scored and nine allowed.

• San Diego is unbeaten in its last three road matches (2-0-1): 2-1 at LMU, 2-2 at San Francisco and 3-0 at Pacific.

• Both road losses came by a 1-0 score, at No. 1 Stanford and at No. 16 Kansas City, and four of the five road wins came by a 2-1 score: at Washington, California Baptist, UC Irvine and LMU.

• San Diego has played before 8,386 fans in nine road matches, an average of 932, led by 1,801 at Washington.

• The Toreros are 3-1-1 at Torero Stadium after the win over Santa Clara and close the regular season at home against Saint Mary's on Nov. 6.

CHASING A FIFTH STRAIGHT TITLE
• The win over Santa Clara kept San Diego second in the WCC with 11 points, four behind unbeaten leader Portland (5-0-0) and one ahead of Denver. Pacific is fourth with seven points, one ahead of San Francisco and Santa Clara.

• Portland, Denver and San Francisco also won Wednesday: the Pilots at Seattle U, the Pioneers at Saint Mary's and the Dons at home against Pacific.

• San Diego has two league matches left, at Seattle U on Oct. 31 and against Saint Mary's on Nov. 6. Santa Clara and Saint Mary's also have two left, and the other six teams have three.

• Four league matches are scheduled Saturday while San Diego prepares for UCLA: Pacific at Denver, Santa Clara at Portland, Seattle U at San Francisco and LMU at Saint Mary's.

• The 2025 Toreros lost to Portland in their third WCC match, falling to 1-1-1, and then won their last six league matches to claim the title.

• All four of San Diego's WCC losses since the start of the 2022 season have come against Portland. The Toreros are 27-0-5 against the rest of the conference over that span.

• USD went 25-3-3 in WCC regular-season play across its four title seasons: 6-0-1 in 2022, 5-1-1 in 2023, 7-1-0 in 2024 and 7-1-1 in 2025. The 2025 crown made San Diego the first program in league history to win four straight.

• The 2026 WCC men's soccer field has nine teams, with Denver joining this season, and each plays an eight-match league schedule.

• For the first time, the WCC will stage a men's soccer tournament. The top four regular-season finishers meet in single-elimination semifinals on Nov. 11 and a final on Nov. 14, with the higher seed hosting each match.

• The tournament champion, not the regular-season champion, now earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

WCC STANDINGS

Standings as of Oct. 22, ranked by points (three for a win, one for a draw). The top four finishers qualify for the WCC Tournament.

RAMIREZ SETS THE PACE
• Steven Ramirez assisted Elijah Zelkind's goal against Santa Clara, giving him a point in five straight matches: goals at LMU, at San Francisco, against Portland and at Pacific, then Wednesday's assist.

• His penalty kick at Pacific was the 20th goal of his career: one as a freshman in 2023, four in 2024, eight in 2025 and seven this season.

• One more goal would match his 2025 total of eight, with three regular-season matches left.

• All three of San Diego's penalty kicks this season have been taken and converted by Ramirez: at UC Santa Barbara, at San Francisco and at Pacific.

• His seven goals this season account for more than a quarter of San Diego's 26, and he leads the team with 16 points, 40 shots and 13 shots on target.

WINNING THE SHOT BATTLE
• San Diego has taken more shots than its opponent in nine of 14 matches and is 7-1-1 in those games. The lone loss was the 5-4 decision against Portland, when San Diego held a 17-14 edge.

• Shots were even in two matches, a 1-0 loss at Kansas City (12-12) and the 2-2 draw at San Francisco (18-18). San Diego is 1-1-1 when outshot, a group that includes the 2-1 win at No. 1 Washington.

• The Toreros' 24-3 margin at Pacific is the widest of the season, and the 24-8 margin against Santa Clara is second. San Diego also outshot Denver 16-6, San Diego State 16-7 and UC Irvine 14-6.

• Pacific's three shots were the fewest by a Torero opponent this season, half the previous low of six by UC Irvine and Denver.

• San Diego averages 15.3 shots per match to its opponents' 10.7 and puts 36% of its attempts on target, compared with 29% for opponents.

COMING FROM BEHIND
• San Diego has conceded first in seven of its 14 matches and is 3-3-1 in them. It is 5-0-1 when scoring first, after Ethan McNaughton's 56th-minute opener against Santa Clara.

• Three of the Toreros' eight wins have come after conceding the first goal: against Liberty on Aug. 23, at UC Irvine on Sept. 8 and at LMU on Sept. 30.

• The three losses after conceding first were 1-0 road defeats at No. 1 Stanford, on an 89th-minute goal, and at Kansas City, where the Toreros played the final 54 minutes with 10 men, and the 5-4 home loss to Portland.

• Even down 5-2 against Portland, San Diego scored twice in 1:58 through Kevin Pena to make it 5-4 with 17 minutes to play.

• The answer at LMU took 68 seconds. The Lions scored at 21:45, and Steven Ramirez equalized at 22:53.

• San Diego trailed 1-0 at halftime against Liberty and at UC Irvine. The Toreros scored three times between the 54th and 64th minutes to beat the Flames 3-1, then scored twice in a span of 2:21 to beat the Anteaters 2-1.

• The Toreros have been quick to capitalize elsewhere as well. Ramirez scored twice in 91 seconds against Liberty, Luca Fava's winner at California Baptist came 45 seconds after the Lancers went down to 10 men, Iain Wagner scored 77 seconds after San Diego went down a man at Pacific, and Devin Dillon and Elijah Zelkind scored 95 seconds apart against Santa Clara.

HELP FROM THE BENCH
• Substitutes have scored four of San Diego's 26 goals: Conner Gardenhour at UC Irvine, Devin Zachry at San Francisco and Kevin Pena twice against Portland.

• Gardenhour scored seven minutes after entering at halftime at UC Irvine, starting the comeback in a 2-1 win, and Zachry equalized at San Francisco less than 10 minutes after coming on in the 32nd minute.

• Substitutes have also set up five goals: Jaxson Findlay and Matteo Salcedo against Liberty, Tony Ramirez at California Baptist, Samy Kanaan against San Diego State and Salcedo, who came on at halftime, against Santa Clara.

• Pena turned his two goals off the bench against Portland into starts at Pacific and against Santa Clara, and he assisted the opening goal in both.

• Zachry has 13 substitute appearances, Gardenhour and Findlay have 10 each, and Elijah Zelkind has nine.

• Twenty-four Toreros have played this season, and 21 have made at least one start. Eighteen played against Santa Clara.

EVER-PRESENT
• Lucca Adams has played all 1,260 minutes in goal, the only Torero on the field for every minute this season.

• Taj Eagleston has logged 1,233 minutes, missing only the final 21 against Portland and the closing minutes against Santa Clara, and Iain Wagner is next with 1,152.

• Devin Dillon (1,083), Steven Ramirez (1,017), Oliver Rhoades (926) and Luca Fava (891) give San Diego seven players with more than 800 minutes this season, five of them with more than 1,000.

• Kevin Pena and Elijah Zelkind made their first starts of 2026 at Pacific and started again against Santa Clara.

WHERE THE TOREROS STAND
• San Diego is unranked in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 but received seven votes. It is the Toreros' second week outside the poll after appearing in each of the first eight releases of the season.

• San Diego is also unranked in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.

• USD opened the season at No. 18 in the coaches poll and climbed to No. 2 on Aug. 25, the highest the program has ever appeared in that poll.

• The Toreros reached No. 1 in the Top Drawer Soccer Division I Top 25 on Aug. 24, the first time the program has held the top spot in a national poll.

• San Diego's previous best in either poll was No. 3, reached in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 on Nov. 5, 2024, at 12-1-2.

• Four 2026 opponents are in this week's coaches poll: No. 5 Kansas City, No. 7 Washington, No. 19 UCLA and Portland, tied for No. 21. San Diego beat Washington 2-1 in the opener and lost to Kansas City and Portland. Stanford and UC Santa Barbara are receiving votes.

COACH QUINN AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
• Brian Quinn is 79-48-26 as San Diego's head coach. He is in his ninth season in the role and his 20th with the program.

• Since taking over in 2018, Quinn has faced ranked opponents 24 times and is 8-11-5 in those matches.

• No. 1 Washington remains both the highest-ranked opponent of the Quinn era and his highest-ranked win, ahead of a 2018 meeting with No. 2 Duke that the Toreros dropped.

• That list of wins also includes No. 6 Washington in 2023, No. 7 Portland in 2022, No. 10 Duke in 2024 and No. 10 Oregon State in 2025.

• Stanford was the 12th top-10 opponent of the Quinn era and the fourth top-three opponent since 2018.

• San Diego is 1-2-0 against ranked teams this season, with both losses by a 1-0 score. No. 19 UCLA will be the 25th ranked opponent of the Quinn era.

BEATING A NO. 1
• USD's Aug. 20 win at Washington was the fifth time in program history San Diego has beaten a No. 1-ranked opponent, and the first under Brian Quinn. The Huskies were the defending national champions.

• The previous one came against Sunday's opponent, a 1-0 win over No. 1 UCLA on Sept. 26, 2014, at Torero Stadium in front of a program-record crowd of 4,432.

• Taj Eagleston opened the scoring in the 11th minute in Seattle, finishing an assist from Steven Ramirez whose own strike had been cleared off the goal line. Devin Dillon doubled the lead in the 53rd.

• Lucca Adams went the full 90 and made four saves against 16 Washington shots and 11 corner kicks. The result moved San Diego to 3-3-2 all time against the Huskies.

EAGLESTON, FAVA SWEEP WCC MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY AWARDS (SEPT. 14)
• Taj Eagleston and Luca Fava swept the West Coast Conference men's soccer weekly honors on Sept. 14, with Eagleston named Offensive Player of the Week and Fava Defensive Player of the Week after 2-1 wins at UC Irvine and against San Diego State.

• Eagleston scored the game-winner in both matches, in the 55th minute at UC Irvine and the 34th against San Diego State, and played all 180 minutes while leading the Toreros with nine shots, four on target.

• Fava started both wins at wing-back and played 154 minutes, helping San Diego allow just two goals and four shots on target for the week.

• Fava finished the week with three shots, one on goal, and an assist. He took the corner that started the move on Iain Wagner's opener against San Diego State and supplied the cross for Eagleston's winner.

• Eagleston became the second Torero to earn WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season, following Steven Ramirez on Aug. 24.

RAMIREZ NAMED WCC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (AUG. 24)
• Senior forward Steven Ramirez was named the WCC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for Aug. 24, 2026.

• Ramirez had a hand in three of the Toreros' five goals during the 2-0-0 opening week, setting up the opener at Washington before scoring twice in 91 seconds against Liberty as San Diego rallied for a 3-1 win.

• The honor is the first conference weekly award of Ramirez's career and the first WCC Offensive Player of the Week award of the 2026 season. He is the first Torero recognized since Iain Wagner earned the same honor on Nov. 17, 2025.

• He has since added penalties at UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Pacific, the equalizer at LMU and a headed equalizer against Portland, and leads the Toreros with seven goals on 40 shots through 14 matches.

• The Garden Grove, Calif., native has drawn WCC postseason recognition in each of his first three seasons, landing on the All-WCC Freshman Team in 2023, honorable mention in 2024 and the second team in 2025.

THROUGH 14 MATCHES
• San Diego has scored 26 goals on 214 shots, 78 of them on target, and has outshot its opponents 214-150 overall and 78-44 on frame.

• The Toreros are averaging 1.86 goals per match and have allowed exactly one goal in 10 of their 14 matches. The exceptions are shutouts of Denver and Pacific, the 2-2 draw at San Francisco and the 5-4 loss to Portland.

• Sixteen of San Diego's 26 goals have come after halftime, including all three against Santa Clara.

• Steven Ramirez leads the team with seven goals and 16 points, and Taj Eagleston has five goals and 12 points. The two have combined for 12 of the Toreros' 26 goals.

• Eagleston has four of the team's eight game-winning goals and Devin Dillon has two. Dillon, Noah James, Kevin Pena and Iain Wagner have two goals apiece, and Luca Fava, Conner Gardenhour, Ethan McNaughton, Oliver Rhoades, Devin Zachry and Elijah Zelkind have one each, giving San Diego 12 different goal scorers.

• Wagner and Matteo Salcedo share the team lead with four assists, Fava has three, and Mathias Bauer, Eagleston, Pena, Ramirez and Rhoades have two each. Thirteen players have recorded the 26 Torero assists.

• Nineteen different Toreros have recorded at least one point in 2026, and 24 have seen action.

• Five Toreros have started all 14 matches: Lucca Adams, Eagleston, Ramirez, Rhoades and Wagner.

• San Diego is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season, all converted by Ramirez, and opponents are 2-for-2.

• Adams is 8-3-3 in goal with 27 saves and 17 goals allowed across 14 starts and 1,260 minutes, a .614 save percentage, a 1.21 goals-against average and two shutouts.

BY THE NUMBERS
• San Diego is 8-1-2 when it scores at least one goal and 0-2-1 when held off the board, with both losses coming by a 1-0 score.

• The Toreros are 8-1-1 when scoring at least twice and 3-1-0 when scoring three or more. Five of their eight wins have come by a 2-1 score.

• USD is 5-0-1 when scoring first and 3-3-1 when conceding first, with comeback wins against Liberty, at UC Irvine and at LMU.

• San Diego is 4-0-1 when leading at halftime, 2-1-0 when trailing at the break and 2-2-2 when level.

• Eleven of the 14 matches have been decided by one goal or ended level, and San Diego is 5-3-0 in one-goal games. The exceptions are three wins: 3-1 over Liberty, 3-0 at Pacific and 3-1 over Santa Clara.

• The Toreros are 5-2-2 on the road and 3-1-1 at Torero Stadium in 2026.

• San Diego is 3-1-2 in WCC play and 5-2-1 against non-conference opponents.

• San Diego is 6-1-2 against California opponents this season, and UCLA will be the 10th.

• The Toreros are 1-1-0 against Power Four opponents in 2026, beating Washington of the Big Ten and losing at Stanford of the ACC. UCLA is their second Big Ten opponent.

KEEPING OPPONENTS OFF TARGET
• San Diego has allowed 44 shots on goal in 14 matches, 3.1 per match, while putting 78 on frame at the other end.

• Nine of 14 opponents have managed two or fewer shots on target, and Santa Clara had three. Denver is still the only opponent to finish without one.

• San Francisco put a season-high 10 shots on target against the Toreros on Oct. 3, and Portland followed with eight. No other opponent has managed more than five.

• Opponents are shooting .113 for the season, with 17 goals on 150 attempts. Six of the 17 goals San Diego has allowed have come in the first half.

• UCLA arrives averaging 2.21 goals and 13.6 shots per match, with 75 of its 191 attempts on target this season.

THE SECOND 45
• San Diego has outshot its opponents 131-88 after halftime in 2026 and outscored them 16-11, after holding a 10-6 goal edge in first halves.

• Six of San Diego's eight game-winning goals have been scored after halftime, including Devin Dillon's 80th-minute header against Santa Clara. The exceptions are Eagleston's 34th-minute winner against San Diego State and his 14th-minute opener at Pacific.

• Fifty of USD's 87 corner kicks this season have come after the break, including eight of its 13 against Santa Clara.

• Opposing goalkeepers have made 30 of their 52 saves against San Diego in second halves, including four of Santa Clara's six on Wednesday.

• UCLA has been at its best after the break as well, with 21 of its 31 goals this season coming in second halves.

GOALS BY THE CLOCK

Goals by minute of the match, through 14 matches.

• The first 15 minutes after halftime have been San Diego's most productive stretch. Seven of its 26 goals have come between the 46th and 60th minutes, including Ethan McNaughton's 56th-minute opener against Santa Clara.

• Twelve of the Toreros' 26 goals have come between the 46th and 75th minutes.

• San Diego has scored in the opening 15 minutes five times: Taj Eagleston's 11th-minute opener at Washington, Steven Ramirez's 12th-minute penalty at UC Santa Barbara, Noah James' 14th-minute goal at California Baptist, Oliver Rhoades' eighth-minute equalizer against Portland and Eagleston's 14th-minute opener at Pacific.

• Opponents have scored nine of their 17 goals after the 60th minute, including four after the 75th: Stanford's 89th-minute winner, UC Santa Barbara's 78th-minute equalizer and 90th-minute goals by San Diego State and Santa Clara.

• San Diego has scored four goals after the 75th minute: Taj Eagleston's 79th-minute winner at LMU, Iain Wagner's 88th-minute goal at Pacific, and Devin Dillon's and Elijah Zelkind's goals 95 seconds apart in the 80th and 81st minutes against Santa Clara.

STAFF PROMOTIONS
• San Diego announced Oct. 6 that Mike "Nico" Nicholson has been promoted to senior associate head coach and Frankie Sanfilippo to associate head coach.

• Nicholson is in his 22nd season with the program after joining the staff in 2005 under former head coach Seamus McFadden. He has helped the Toreros win six WCC titles and earn five NCAA Tournament berths.

• Sanfilippo, a San Diego native, is in his sixth season after joining the staff in 2021 from Albion FC and has been part of each of USD's four straight WCC titles and NCAA Tournament trips. He played at San Jose State before a 13-year professional career that included a 2012 NASL title with Tampa Bay.

RECAPPING LAST SEASON
Last season in 2025 — Brian Quinn's eighth season as USD men's soccer head coach — he led the Toreros to their fourth consecutive West Coast Conference championship, a feat no program in league history had ever accomplished. As San Diego works through 2026, it is chasing an unprecedented fifth straight WCC title. Here's what the Toreros accomplished along the way:

• Won their fourth straight WCC Championship — the first program in conference history to do so — with a 4-2 road win over No. 10 Oregon State to clinch the crown

• Finished the regular season 13-2-3 overall and 7-1-1 in WCC play, good for a No. 7 national ranking

• Earned the No. 9 overall seed and a first-round bye in the 2025 NCAA Tournament

• Posted nine shutouts on the season, including a stretch of five straight clean sheets in the middle of conference play

• Advanced to the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, falling 2-1 to Grand Canyon in the NCAA Tournament second round at Torero Stadium — one year after reaching the Sweet Sixteen with wins over UC Davis and Duke

• Head coach Brian Quinn was named WCC Coach of the Year, with Lucca Adams (Goalkeeper of the Year) and Ethan Warne (Defensive Player of the Year) headlining nine total All-WCC selections

ADAMS, JAMES AND WAGNER EARN WCC PRESEASON HONORS
• Three Toreros were named to the 2026 WCC Preseason Team and San Diego was picked to finish second in the 2026 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.

• Goalkeeper Lucca Adams, midfielder Noah James and forward Iain Wagner comprised USD's preseason team honorees.

• Portland was tabbed as the league's preseason favorite, receiving six of the nine first-place votes and totaling 62 points. San Diego received two first-place votes and finished with 55 points, three ahead of third-place Denver, which received the final first-place vote and totaled 53 points.

STAR RETURNERS
#1 Lucca Adams | RS Sophomore | Goalkeeper | São Paulo, Brazil | California Connections Academy | UCLA
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 14 matches and played all 1,260 minutes in goal

• 8-3-3 with 27 saves against 17 goals allowed, a .614 save percentage and a 1.21 goals-against average

• Faces the program where he began his college career; spent the 2024 season at UCLA without appearing in a match before transferring to San Diego

• Made two saves against Santa Clara, both in the second half

• Has conceded exactly one goal in 10 of the 14 matches, coming within 14 seconds of a clean sheet against San Diego State and five seconds against Santa Clara

• Made a career-high eight saves at San Francisco, five of them before halftime, doubling his previous best of four

• Has two clean sheets this season, against Denver and at Pacific, and 10 in his career

• Is 18-5-5 in 28 career starts

• Posted a program-record 0.58 goals-against average and eight shutouts in 2025, when he was named WCC Goalkeeper of the Year

#7 Oliver Rhoades | Senior | Midfielder | Huntington Beach, Calif. | California Connections Academy
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 14 matches and logged 926 minutes

• Put a team-high three shots on target against Santa Clara, matching the season high for a Torero, and finished with four shots

• Has put nine of his 17 shots on target this season

• Scored and assisted against Portland, equalizing in the eighth minute with a first-time left-footer off a rebound from 16 yards and combining with Lucien Wa Bwanda on the move that produced Kevin Pena's second goal

• The goal was his first of 2026 and his first since 2024, when he scored three times and earned All-WCC honorable mention

• Has four points this season on a goal and two assists

• Recorded his first assist of 2026 at LMU, setting up Steven Ramirez's 23rd-minute equalizer

• Had three assists as a junior in 2025

#8 Taj Eagleston | Junior | Midfielder | Hermosa Beach, Calif. | California Connections Academy
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 14 matches and logged 1,233 minutes, second only to goalkeeper Lucca Adams

• Had four shots against Santa Clara

• Ranks second on the team with five goals and 12 points this season, and third with 32 shots and 10 on target

• Leads the Toreros with four game-winning goals this season, and all five of his goals have come in wins

• Has scored the winning goal in four of San Diego's last six victories: at UC Irvine (Sept. 8), against San Diego State (Sept. 13), at LMU (Sept. 30) and at Pacific (Oct. 17)

• Scored and assisted at Pacific for a season-high three points, opening the scoring in the 14th minute and setting up Iain Wagner's 88th-minute goal

• Has appeared on Top Drawer Soccer's weekly Player of the Year Leaderboard this season

• Named WCC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14 after scoring the game-winner in 2-1 wins at UC Irvine and against San Diego State

• Opened the scoring in the 11th minute at Washington, finishing a Steven Ramirez assist for the first goal of his USD career

#9 Steven Ramirez | Senior | Forward | Garden Grove, Calif. | Virtual Learning Academy
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 14 matches and logged 1,017 minutes

• Assisted Elijah Zelkind's 81st-minute goal against Santa Clara with a cross from the right, extending his point streak to five matches

• Leads the Toreros with seven goals, 16 points, 40 shots and 13 shots on target this season

• Scored in four straight matches before Wednesday: at LMU, at San Francisco, against Portland and at Pacific

• Has 20 career goals: one as a freshman in 2023, four in 2024, eight in 2025 and seven this season

• Is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season, at UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Pacific

• Headed in the 51st-minute equalizer against Portland from the near side after Tobias Polz nodded a Matteo Salcedo free kick back across the goal mouth

• Scored twice in a span of 91 seconds against Liberty, in the 62nd and 64th minutes, putting San Diego ahead for good in a 3-1 comeback win

• Assisted Taj Eagleston's 11th-minute opener at Washington; his own strike a minute earlier was cleared off the goal line

• Named WCC Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 24, the first conference weekly award of his career

#11 Devin Zachry | Junior | Forward | Mission Viejo, Calif. | Capistrano Valley | Fairfield
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 13 matches, all off the bench, totaling 298 minutes

• Equalized in the 42nd minute at San Francisco for his first goal of 2026, less than 10 minutes after entering as a substitute, off assists from Iain Wagner and Luca Fava

• The goal was his fourth as a Torero; he had three goals and two assists as a sophomore in 2025, his first season at USD, scoring against UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and Seattle U

• Had three goals and five assists as a freshman at Fairfield in 2024, earning MAAC Rookie of the Week honors twice

#13 Iain Wagner | Junior | Forward | San Diego, Calif. | Saint Augustine
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 14 matches and logged 1,152 minutes

• Had a team-high five shots against Santa Clara, matching his season high for the second straight match and the third time this season

• Shares the team lead with four assists this season and ranks third with eight points; also ranks second with 37 shots and 12 on target

• Scored in the 88th minute at Pacific off a Taj Eagleston assist, 77 seconds after San Diego went down to 10 men

• Has scored in back-to-back meetings with Pacific after netting the only goal of last season's 1-0 win on Oct. 31

• Has 11 career goals, nine of them during a 22-point sophomore season in 2025

• Has assisted two of Steven Ramirez's seven goals this season: the 64th-minute insurance goal against Liberty, on a through ball behind the back line, and the 23rd-minute equalizer at LMU

• Scored his first goal of 2026 in the 17th minute against San Diego State, finishing left-footed from 25 yards off a recycled corner

#18 Ethan McNaughton | Senior | Midfielder | Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif. | San Dieguito Academy
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 10 matches with five starts, totaling 521 minutes

• Headed in Kevin Pena's left-sided corner at the near post in the 56th minute against Santa Clara for the first goal of his collegiate career, breaking a scoreless tie

• Went the full 90 against the Broncos

• Has put two of his three shots this season on target

• Made three appearances over his first three seasons before this fall

#21 Kevin Pena | Graduate | Midfielder | San Marcos, Calif. | San Marcos
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in six matches with two starts, totaling 210 minutes

• Has started each of the last two matches and assisted the opening goal in both, delivering the corner Ethan McNaughton headed in against Santa Clara

• Has a point in three straight matches, beginning with two goals in 38 minutes off the bench against Portland, the first multi-goal match of his career

• Struck a right-footed free kick from 25 yards into the upper-left corner in the 71st minute against Portland, then looped an 18-yard shot over the goalkeeper in the 73rd, 1:58 later

• Hit the crossbar in the 68th minute against Santa Clara

• Has six points this season and has scored on both of his shots on target

• Has four career goals and eight career assists: two goals and two assists as a freshman in 2022, four assists as a sophomore in 2023 and two goals and two assists this season

#22 Elijah Zelkind | Graduate | Defender | San Diego, Calif. | Torrey Pines | Missouri State
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 11 matches with two starts, totaling 414 minutes

• Scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the 81st minute against Santa Clara, tapping in from 6 yards after a Steven Ramirez cross was miscleared

• Has started each of the last two matches, going the full 90 in the clean sheet at Pacific and playing 82 minutes against Santa Clara

• Has put three of his five shots this season on target

• Did not appear in 2025, his first season at USD, while recovering from injury

#24 Luca Fava | Junior | Midfielder | Yorba Linda, Calif. | Pearson Academy
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Is eligible to return Sunday after serving a one-match suspension against Santa Clara for his red card at Pacific

• Has started all 12 matches he has played and logged 891 minutes

• Has five points this season on a goal and three assists, and ranks fourth on the team with 18 shots

• Had four shots at Pacific, two on target

• Assisted Devin Zachry's 42nd-minute equalizer at San Francisco, his third assist of 2026

• Named WCC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14 after starting at wing-back in 2-1 wins at UC Irvine and against San Diego State

• Scored his first goal of 2026 in the 66th minute at California Baptist, the game-winner, 45 seconds after the Lancers went down to 10 men

#29 Devin Dillon | Junior | Defender | Draper, Utah | Corner Canyon
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in all 14 matches with 11 starts, logging 1,083 minutes

• Nodded a Matteo Salcedo corner into an empty net at the far post in the 80th minute against Santa Clara for the game-winner

• Both of his goals this season have been game-winners, second on the team behind Taj Eagleston's four

• Has gone the full 90 in each of the last six matches: against Denver, at LMU, at San Francisco, against Portland, at Pacific and against Santa Clara

• Scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 53rd minute at Washington for the first goal of his Torero career

NEWCOMER TALENT
Sophomore midfielder Matteo Salcedo is in his first season with the Toreros and shares the team lead in assists:

#14 Matteo Salcedo | Sophomore | Midfielder | Dana Point, Calif. | Capistrano Valley Christian
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 11 matches with six starts, totaling 614 minutes

• Set up Devin Dillon's 80th-minute winner against Santa Clara with a left-sided corner after coming on at halftime

• Shares the team lead with four assists this season, against Liberty, San Diego State, Portland and Santa Clara

• Delivered the free kick against Portland that Tobias Polz headed back across goal for Steven Ramirez's equalizer

• Put all three of his shots on target at Kansas City

• His father, Jorge, played at UCLA, winning a national championship as a freshman, and spent five seasons in MLS

TRANSFER TALENT
Head coach Brian Quinn added three transfers to the back line for the 2026 season. Those three players are:

#3 Lucien Wa Bwanda | Junior | Defender | Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Nova College | Indiana Wesleyan | Cal State Fullerton
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 11 of the 14 matches with nine starts, for a total of 672 minutes

• Came on in the 85th minute against Santa Clara

• Recorded his first point as a Torero against Portland, crossing for Kevin Pena's 73rd-minute goal after a give-and-go with Oliver Rhoades on the right flank

• Has gone the full 90 six times: in his Torero debut at Washington, at Stanford, at California Baptist, against San Diego State, at San Francisco and against Portland

#6 Tobias Polz | Graduate | Defender | Graz, Austria | HAK Mattersburg | University of Derby
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has started all nine matches he has played, at California Baptist, UC Irvine, Kansas City, LMU, San Francisco and Pacific and against Denver, Portland and Santa Clara, for a total of 796 minutes

• Has gone the full 90 in each of his last eight appearances, including the win over Santa Clara

• Recorded his first point as a Torero against Portland, heading a Matteo Salcedo free kick back across the goal mouth for Steven Ramirez's 51st-minute equalizer

• Took three of his four shots this season at Kansas City, including an 85th-minute effort that came off the woodwork

#33 Leo Arndt | Junior | Defender | Cologne, Germany | Lore-Lorentz-Schule | Rider
Through 14 Matches (2026)
• Has yet to appear in 2026

FRESHMAN TALENT
Head coach Brian Quinn welcomed a freshman class of five to campus this fall. Those five are:

• #0 Artur Rojas | Goalkeeper | São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil — yet to appear

• #15 Issak Luna | Midfielder | Yuma, Ariz. — has appeared seven times, most recently for the final eight minutes against Santa Clara; played 24 minutes against Portland and forced a save with a 62nd-minute shot; made his first career start at California Baptist and logged 34 minutes in his collegiate debut at Washington

• #20 Jojo Adamitis | Forward | Glen Carbon, Ill. — yet to appear

• #25 Wyatt Marin | Forward | London, England — made his collegiate debut at UC Santa Barbara, entering in the 27th minute and playing 18 minutes; has not appeared since

• #27 Tony Ramirez | Midfielder | Escondido, Calif. — has appeared seven times, with starts at UC Irvine and against San Diego State; forced a save in eight minutes off the bench against Santa Clara before a straight red card at 89:37, which carries a one-match suspension under NCAA rules; sent in the cross that broke to Conner Gardenhour for the 53rd-minute equalizer at UC Irvine and assisted Noah James' opener at California Baptist for the first point of his career